johnpaul215 Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 By the way, if you watched the presentation there was a slide showing the guts of the iMac and the SSD is on one side an the spinning HDD is on the other. If nothing else wait till it ships and those websites, like ifixit, will tear it down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmgoodin Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 Fusion is not Ready Boost, and it looks like you can sort of make your own: http://www.macrumors...-on-older-macs/ Sure Fusion may be slightly different from Readyboost in its Apple approved version because the SSD Non-volatile Ram portion of the Disk mapping is not easily removed. Readyboost uses any type of Non Volatile Ram including removeable SD cards or USB thumb drives. which seems very similar to the method you linked to in the Hack of the Apple Fusion to allow it to use externally connected SSD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studiomprd Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 " wondering if "Fusion Drive" works the same as current hybrid disk drives. " Like "Superdrive", I clearly envision OTS physical technology and proprietary software technology, all with a cool name.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boomboom Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 Don't you guys feel your fingertips itchy when using your Mac keyboards since they've been "Intel Inside" ? ) Well, I feel well since I've been using a mouse thank you. Seems us two crowds don't have the same issues...heehee Using it to work? To make a statement? Mmmmm... Fruit for thought... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnpaul215 Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 It seems like it is all the same cloudy idea of combining spinning discs with SSD, because only using SSD is just too expensive. Thankfully (hopefully) nobody got a patent on the vague "combine SSD and spinny drives in a secret way to make stuff go really fast". Apple is doing this, MS has Ready Boost, and both seem a lot faster than the drop in hybrids. I understand that Ready Boost uses the flash as cache, that's actually something that goes way back 10 years on home computers. I know Apple had something in the classic OS in the early/mid-90s to use extra RAM as disc cache to speed things up (which vaguely sounds like Ready Boost in a conceptual way). It didn't make as much sense back then to average users because we needed all the RAM we could afford (I was in college). ReadyBoost works with removable drives, but Fusion wouldn't. You would lose your OS. I don't know too much about Ready Boost, but knowing MS, I wouldn't be surprised if they start to put things into the cache when you boot up based on what you use most. Microsoft has a history of trying to speed things up by predicting what the user will do, like pre-caching websites. I don't mean that as a dis, but I could see somebody there going "hey, can we use that same concept on drives?" Anyway, it works as a cache, not permanent storage. Fusion drive (not this hack of it), uses a SSD to store the OS and apps/files you use most. My understanding is that they are stored on the SSD, as in even when you power down those apps/files are on the SSD. The OS manages what is on the SSD and what is on the platters (based on your usage), so the user really doesn't know that there are two drives, let alone what drive has their files, because it appears as a single volume. That's why the real Fusion drive has to be two internal drives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Duffy Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 Apple wants to sell computers, obviously, that is the first consideration. Explaining to the general public in great detail what they are doing under the hood is a totally different matter altogether. If the "technical media outlets" had to do some dissecting and some guessing, does that make Apple a bad company (or even guilty of not releasing a detailed technical paper during a product announcement event)? This is the true crux, what it comes down to. Any number of other computer companies would have white papers, help pages and technical details ready to go for the advanced or corporate users to deeply understand the implications of the technology, how to deploy it and how to customize it. Apple is now 100% a consumer oriented company, where those details don't matter at the introduction, making the technical press guess, and doesn't come out with details in direct form. We're even guessing that there will be more details later on, or that things will become clear when advanced users start to dig into it. That's a terrible model to be using unless you want to perpetuate the image that Mac's are good because everything tricky has been already chosen for you. My final shot at Apple here, this is what I think of when I see these light-on-details-but-actually-cool features http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/1995-03-25/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Duffy Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 There was a LOT going in at that press event, so so I'm not surprised Apple didn't get into details of Fusion drive. They explained how it works in simple language, except they didn't make it clear that it uses two drives, and not a new magic hybrid drive that gets speeds current hybrids can't. Anything beyond that is probably too technical for a press event. Agreed, but even now try searching on the Apple website for "Fusion Drive" today. There's no explanation, only spec lines on the new macs that have it listed as an option, and the press event video if you can find that. Where is the consumer going to go to get a balanced explanation on whether they should choose this new technology? Apple Store staff? Gushing website reviews? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
studiomprd Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 it should be called: FUSION Drive Technology, as there is not really a "FUSION Drive" hardware item. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Wexler Posted October 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 "This is the true crux, what it comes down to. Any number of other computer companies would have white papers, help pages and technical details ready to go for the advanced or corporate users to deeply understand the implications of the technology, how to deploy it and how to customize it." Who are these "advanced corporate users" that are going to buy a new iMac with a cool sounding Fusion Drive? I don't think the basic consumer is being denied any technical information that they actually want or could benefit from. "Apple is now 100% a consumer oriented company, where those details don't matter at the introduction, making the technical press guess, and doesn't come out with details in direct form." I think Apple has always been essentially a consumer oriented company with the consumer being "the rest of us" as they used to say the Mac was the computer for the rest of us (meaning computers don't have to be for professionals, IT managers, corporate companies, etc.). It just turned out that the Macs were so good, so easy to use, that regular people started using them professionally. They are still consumers and Apple is still interested in people consuming (buying) their product. "We're even guessing that there will be more details later on, or that things will become clear when advanced users start to dig into it. That's a terrible model to be using unless you want to perpetuate the image that Mac's are good because everything tricky has been already chosen for you." That "terrible model" hasn't prevented Apple from becoming one of the most successful companies in history and with millions and millions of happy users who could care less what the marketing model is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerard-NYNY Posted December 10, 2012 Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 for all the good points about macbooks and other apple products, i think they are terrifically over priced. one could buy a machine from practically any good manufacturer and have a tech partition the drive and install the latest version of apple os. todays deal on pc world indicates a decent computer, spinning disc and ssd, lots of storage for a small price. i'm all for building frankenstein computers particularly when you can save a nice chunk of cash. want better performance out of this? replace the main drive with an ssd, upgrade the ram and you're set. Dell Inspiron 14z Ultrabook w/Core i5, 500GB + 32GB SSD, Win8 Get yourself a powerful and portable PC with our best deal of the day. Dell’s Inspiron 14z is classified as an Ultrabook, meaning it is super-thin & light with long battery life and strong performance to boot. It is powered by the new 3rd gen Intel Core i5 processor with 6GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive, and a super-fast 32GB SSD cache. You’ll get up to 7 hours of battery life and despite being just 0.8″ thin, the 14z has tons of standard features like USB 3.0, HDMI, Wireless-N, and more. Dell even includes an on-site warranty at no extra cost. Check out this popular little PC today! List Price: $850.99 Price: $699.99+ Free Shipping You Save: $151.00 (18%) http://www.pcmag.com/best-deals-today Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Wexler Posted December 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2012 To each his own... if "building frankenstein computers" is your thing, then go for it! The other 90% or more of the consumer computing public wouldn't even know where to start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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